Optical scanners for scanning or inputing text or other data into an electronic memory from which it may later be retrieved are well known. Such optical scanners may be conveniently classified into two categories: table top and hand-held. Table top optical scanners are typically utilized to scan one or more entire pages. Hand-held scanners, on the other hand, are typically utilized to scan lines or selected portions of a page. Such hand-held scanners provide the advantages of portability and ease of scanning textual matter not printed upon paper. For example, identification numbers printed directly upon products may easily be input via such hand-held scanners.
One example of such a hand-held scanner is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,261 issued to Ishikawa, et al. on Aug. 7, 1990. Ishikawa discloses a portable input device having a light source for reading a document, a photo-electric converting element for converting reflected light from the document into an electrical signal, a solid state memory section for storing the output of a photoelectric element, and an output port for allowing external connections whereby the contents of the solid state memory may be transmitted to an external appliance. A diffraction grating focuses an image of the document upon the photoelectric converting element. Interchangeable lenses having different focal lengths provide various magnifications.
An inherent disadvantage of the Ishikawa device is that it must be oriented substantially perpendicular to the surface upon which scanning is being performed. Such perpendicular orientation of the device is substantially awkward and difficult to maintain over extended periods of time. Fatigue is typically experienced after extended use. Tilting of the Ishikawa device inherently results in loss of focus of the image formed upon at least a portion of the photoelectric converting element.
Further disadvantages commonly associated with such portable scanners in general is the inability to conveniently annotate or provide verbal comments associated with the text or other matter being scanned. For example, it is commonly desired to scan a portion of text, from a book, and then provide associated comments such as the title of the document being scanned. Such comments are typically recorded in contemporary practice by either writing them upon a notepad or verbally recording them utilizing a separate microcassette recorder or the like. Use of such written and separately recorded annotations involves the inherent disadvantage that annotations are not directly linked to the scanned matter. As such, it may be difficult at a later time to properly associate the annotations with the scanned text. That is, the user may become confused as to which annotations are associated with particular scanned text. Additionally, the comments can easily become physically separated from the scanned material and lost.
In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, it is desirable to provide a hand-held, portable optical scanner having an integral audio recorder which is held at a comfortable angle during the scanning process to mitigate fatigue and to improve the reliability of the scanning and annotating processes.